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NDSU riders named reserve high-point team

NDSU's equestrian team finished its regular show season as the Zone 7 Region 3 reserve high-point team.

"I am extremely pleased with the team's performance this year," said Tara Swanson, the team's coach. "We had a fairly young and inexperienced team, but they showed remarkable growth throughout the course of the year."

Four members of the team participated in the Zone 7 Region 3 semifinal competition March 29-30 at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. They competed in preliminary rounds March 29, and all four advanced to the finals the following day.

NDSU team members included:

• Hailey Aagard, a junior from Wadena, Minn., who was first in beginner horsemanship

• Janna Rice, a junior from Maddock, N.D., who placed third in advanced horsemanship

• Ashley Lindell, a senior from Solway, Minn., who was seventh in open horsemanship

Rice and Aagard will advance to the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association's National Horse Show in May in Harrisburg, Pa. The students earned their spots at the semifinals by placing first or second at the Zone 7 Region 3 regional championships held at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on March 2.

"These individuals showed poise, determination and a tremendous amount of talent in their rides, and I couldn't be more proud of them," Swanson said. NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.